Dr. Jeremy Mao, a research physician at Columbia University, has developed a technique for regrowing teeth in a patient's mouth.

An animal-model study has shown that by homing stem cells to a scaffold made of natural materials and integrated in surrounding tissue, there is no need to use harvested stem cell lines, or create an environment outside of the body (e.g., a Petri dish) where the tooth is grown and then implanted once it has matured. The tooth instead can be grown “orthotopically,” or in the socket where the tooth will integrate with surrounding tissue in ways that are impossible with hard metals or other materials.

The procedure could eliminate the need for dentures and conventional dental implants.